This session is about getting the creative juices flowing and about mastering the your writing voice. We'll also learn to generate story and scene ideas and discover how to apply various writing techniques to your own work.

The writing exercises are designed to help hone your writing skills, and to help you find your writing voice and style.

Bring your a Notebook/Journal/Pad Paper and your writing instrument of choice. Bring whatever will get your creative juices flowing--whether it be a pencil, a special pen, a quill or colored markers.

About the Facilitator

Alana Garrigues is a freelance journalist and creative nonfiction author. Originally from the bookish mecca of Portland, Oregon, she now lives the sunshine life in Redondo Beach, California, where she writes for the local newspaper and raises identical twin girls with her husband.

She is currently writing a “humorous humanitarian” book about a California nurse who uprooted from her laid-back, beach town lifestyle to move to the bush of Benin, West Africa to found a non-profit. Other projects include rough drafts of several children’s stories scribbled into notebooks, awaiting rediscovery and revision. Never one to pigeonhole, Alana is equally in love with telling compelling true stories and inspiring kids to love reading and writing; she hopes to move her career forward with one foot solidly rooted in both camps: creative nonfiction and kid lit.

Alana is happiest when she sets foot on no fewer than two continents in a year, where she spends a great deal of time exploring and attempting to decode language and culture while away. She is a meticulous researcher, terrible housecleaner, incessant daydreamer, nature lover, and dabbler in all things art-related.

Alana is the Publications Director for CBW-LA and author of “writercize,” a blog brimming with writing prompts for writers, students and teachers. She can be found at www.alanagarrigues.com.

In this workshop, we hope to answer questions about writing/publishing to helpyou find the “write path” towards achieving your writing dreams.

We'll help you map out your writing career by clarifying your writing visions, setting your writing goals for the year, and mapping out a three year career plan.

You'll discover what kind of writer you are, and learn all about your different publishing options.

If you’ve always wanted to write, but don’t know where to start, if you’re stuck in a writing rut or want to rekindle your passion for writing, or if you’re serious about getting published but don’t know much about the industry, this workshop will be of great help to you.

We’ll have worksheets, handouts and writing exercises to help you get started on whatever writing path you wish to travel.

Here's a sampling of what you'll learn if you register for the workshop:

1. The Key Paths to Publishing - Traditional publishing and self-publishing are just two of the many options you have for getting published.

2. How a book gets published traditionally

3. The basics of self-publishing including:

a. Your self-publishing options

b. The Real Cost of Self-Publishing a book

4. The pros and cons for both traditional publishing and self-publishing

5. Other Publishing Options

6. Tools to kickstart your writing careerAnd much, much more!

About the Speaker

Nutschell (pronounced Noo-SHELL, in case you were wondering) Anne Windsor is a middle grade/young adult fantasy writer who hails from the Philippines and now lives in sunny Los Angeles. She is the Founder and President of CBW-LA and is the Co- Regional Adviser of the L.A. Region of SCBWI (Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators).

Nutschell founded the Children’s Book Writers of Los Angeles (CBW-LA.org) in 2010 with the hope of sharing knowledge with fellow children’s book writers in the area. Following a BA in Psychology from the University of the Philippines (Diliman), Nutschell became an English teacher at Miriam College High School. Currently, she is the Creative Writing (Online) and Events Rep for UCLA Extension Writers’ Program.

Nutschell’s experiences have turned her into a detail-oriented, organized planner, and she uses these skills to teach and facilitate workshops and critique sessions for CBW-LA. She is also an active member of the blogging community. She shares writing tips, techniques and reports on various writing events at www.thewritingnut.com and on Twitter @nutschell.

*$10 Discount for CBW-LA Members when you pay online

*Non-members pay the full amount

*Fee includes workshop materials, handouts, worksheet and a copy of STORY SPROUTS

BEYOND THE HERO'S JOURNEY: Other Powerful Mythic Themes and Trends for Children's and Young Adult Storytelling

with Kathie Fong Yoneda

& Pamela Jaye Smith

Are you frustrated because your Children's or Young Adult story doesn't fit the storytelling pattern of the Hero's Journey?

Did you know there are dozens of other powerful Mythic Themes you can use like The Wakeup Call, Search for the Soul Mate, Search for the Promised Land, Don’t Ask – Don’t Tell, Stealing Fire From Heaven, and many more?

And what exactly have the agents, editors and publishers been excited about most recently?

Authors and storytelling/media specialists Pamela Jaye Smith and Kathie Fong Yoneda will tackle those questions and more, while showing you:

* How to align your project with timeless Mythic and Universal Storytelling Themes.

* The importance of creating the 3 Mythic Statements to make your story memorable.

* How to utilize your presentation skills to agents, editors and the public.

* How to select the Plot Points best suited for your style, genre and time period while retaining your own unique style.

Use the Mythic Themes and Statements to tap into our collective unconscious and create what we all yearn for in stories: familiarity and surprise. The familiarity comes from using these inherent universal patterns. The surprise comes from telling the stories and crafting the characters with your own unique style and vision.

**Writers will each get a five minute session with Kathie and Pamela Jaye to work on their pitch, talk about theme, plot, characters, or whatever they like.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Pamela Jaye Smithis a mythologist, writer, international consultant-speaker, and award-winning writer-producer-director with over thirty years experience in the media industry. HerCuban Circuitscript was a recent winner at the Bahamas Intl. Film Festival. Pamela authored 5 books for media-makers, is co-author of two children’s books,Petra VolareandSkruffy, writes short stories and articles and teaches online for writers groups. Her companyMYTHWORKShelps people improve their stories, live their personal myths, and better present their projects. Pitch MaterialsPitchProxy Pros. She is co-founder ofAlpha Babe AcademyandMythic Challenges– Create Stories that Change the World.

Kathie Fong Yonedais an entertainment consultant specializing in development and marketing of live action and animated film, television, literary, and web projects. A former exec atDisney, Touchstone, Island Pictures, and Disney TV Animation, she has taught workshops worldwide. Her clientele includes several award-winning writers and she is the author of The Script-Selling Game. Kathie serves on the board of directors for Imago (French production company) and The LAWEBFEST and she co-exec produced the cable series Beyond The Break and teaches a popular online class, Pitch & Presentation, for Screenwriters University.Kathie can be reached online at www.kathiefongyoneda.com.

ABOUT THE BOOKS

Having trouble making your story fit the pattern of The Hero's Journey?

Can't quite make those paradigms match your own characters and plot?

Maybe that's because your story is actually based on a different pattern.

Contrary to popular opinion, The Hero's Journey is not the only Mythic Theme. It's certainly a good one but it is only one of many.

A few years after the publication of Hero With a Thousand Faces, Dr. Joseph Campbell modified his position and observed that for different times and places there were different mythic structures and archetypes.

This book introduces you to many other powerful Mythic Themes ranging from "About Face" to "Damsel in Distress", from "Stealing Fire From Heaven" to "The Wakeup Call".

Each Mythic Theme is explained and explored via:

* Media Echoes - other media on the same theme

* The Myth itself

* Mythic Meaning

* Symbols, Analogies, Metaphors, and more

* Plot Points - guidelines for your own story

* Mythic Statements - Theme, Mission, and Lesson

Using the guidelines in this workbook you can:

* Refine and focus your story theme.

* Select an appropriate sub-plot to enhance your story.

* Use the Plot Points as guidelines for plot drivers, incidences, and scenes in your story.

* Use symbols and images to spark audience recognition.

* Maintain your originality while tapping into the timeless power of these classic myths.

* Take your place in the long line of myth-makers who create moving and memorable stories that engage and entertain your audience.

Add Beyond the Hero's Journey to your writing library today!

The Script-Selling Game is like having a mentor in the business who answers your questions and provides you with not only valuable information, but real-life examples on how to maneuver your way through the Hollywood labyrinth. While the first edition focused mostly on film and television movies, the second edition includes a new chapter on animation and another on utilizing the Internet to market yourself and find new opportunities, plus an expansive section on submitting for television and cable.